Gabon’s Offshore Comeback: International Oil Companies (IOCs) Return as Exploration Heats Up Ahead of Paris Forum

Gabon is emerging as one of Africa’s most active upstream investment destinations, offering opportunities across frontier deepwater exploration, recent discoveries and ongoing production drilling. Clotaire Kondja, Minister of Petroleum and Gas, will represent Gabon’s investment agenda at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) Forum in Paris on April 22–23, as the country positions itself as a multi-entry hotspot for global oil and gas investment.

The clearest signal of renewed international interest came in October 2025, when ExxonMobil signed an MoU with Gabon’s Ministry of Petroleum and Gas to evaluate deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks, marking its re-entry into Central Africa. Days later, bp signed a parallel MoU for the same frontier acreage. Both agreements follow the government’s announcement of new offshore licensing rounds for 2026, targeting roughly 70% of Gabon’s offshore acreage still open to exploration.

Exploration work is already yielding results. In March 2026, Assala Energy announced a hydrocarbon encounter at its Magoga-A well in the Mutamba Iroru II license, with preliminary data showing 8 meters of pay in the Gamba Sandstone formation. On Gabon’s offshore Ngulu block, ReconAfrica is reprocessing 3D seismic across a 1,214 km² area hosting the Loba oil discovery and over 28 identified prospects, aiming for drill-ready status by year-end.

On the production side, VAALCO launched its Phase Three drilling campaign at the Etame Marin block in Q4 2025, with the first development well coming online in January 2026. The campaign spans the Etame, SEENT and Ebouri platforms, targeting gross output of 20,000–23,000 barrels per day by the program’s end and contributing to VAALCO’s broader guidance of 225% organic production growth by 2030.

For investors, Gabon offers both frontier and near-field opportunities. Existing pipelines, platforms and FPSOs lower the capital threshold for development, while ongoing drilling demonstrates that the basin continues to yield commercially viable results. Minister Kondja’s delegation also traveled to Washington in March 2026 to present energy investment opportunities directly to U.S. officials and investors, reinforcing Gabon’s commitment to active engagement with international capital markets.

IAE 2026 is an exclusive forum designed to connect African energy markets with global investors, serving as a key platform for deal-making in the lead-up to African Energy Week. Scheduled for April 22-23, 2026, in Paris, the event will provide delegates with two days of in-depth engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors and policymakers. For more information, visit www.invest-africa-energy.com. To sponsor or register as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.